Chance Encounters
by newyork24-7
Summary: Sometimes fate intervenes and a seemingly chance encounter can lead to something much more meaningful. JIBBS AU
1. Chapter 1

**I know a week ago I was saying how difficult it is to juggle two stories at once, but this has been in my head for ages so I've just decided to post it.**

**Updates might not be as quick as they have been, as I start my job on Monday and then uni on Thursday, so I'm going to be pretty busy.**

**This story is actually 2 ideas I had combined. This chapter is split into two because the next part's going to be M rated. I'll try to have it up either tomorrow or Sunday. Hope you enjoy the first installment though :)**

* * *

Staring moodily into the glass of bourbon he was cradling, Gibbs reflected on the fact that he was going to need a hell of a lot more to forget the day's events - and even then he might be struggling. Downing the rest of his first glass, he looked up to the barman and indicated he wanted another, which was quickly slid along the bar to him.

He looked around him, it was only mid-week so the bar was pretty much empty, something he was grateful for - it meant quicker service for one thing. Staring at the amber liquid, he scrubbed a hand over his jaw. He was tired and exhausted, and the alcohol just wasn't hitting the spot for once.

It had been a long case, a Petty Officer had reported his wife and two year old son missing. Family and friends had reported that the wife, Melissa, had never mentioned any intention of leaving her husband and had seemed happy with her life. The idea of her running off just didn't seem likely, and something in Gibbs mind just didn't add up. So after eighteen hours of fruitless searching, he'd pushed the husband for answers, he'd taken twelve hours to break, but finally he admitted he'd been having an affair. He didn't want the expense of divorce and his lover didn't want the burden of a toddler that wasn't hers, so he'd shot his wife, but had been unable to face turning the weapon on his son. So when he'd abandoned the car and the body, he'd left the little boy strapped in his car seat. Hoping when they were found it would be put down as a robbery gone wrong.

He'd hidden the car off an almost deserted road. Miraculously the little boy was still alive and had been rushed to hospital with severe dehydration, it had been touch and go, but they'd just had word that it looked as though he'd pull through with extensive treatment.

It didn't feel like enough though, Gibbs thought as he gulped down his drink again. He should have been able to see through the man sooner, should have broken him quicker. That little boy should never been able to get to that stage, and he'd failed by not getting to him sooner.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the bell above the entrance signal a newcomer's arrival, and so he was unaware that someone else was sitting at the bar until a husky female voice said, "Bourbon, please." And then added almost as an afterthought, "in fact you better make it a double."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, if the owner of that voice looked half as good as she sounded...he looked up and discovered she looked every bit as good as she sounded. A leggy red head with curves in all the right places. He watched with growing amusement when the bartender asked, "You wantin' ice?"

She threw him an almost scornful glance. "I don't want it diluted in any way, shape or form," she replied.

"That'll be six eighty."

"I'll get it," Gibbs heard himself say. "And I'll have another."

The man shrugged, he wasn't bothered who bought it, as long as someone coughed up the cash. He passed Gibbs yet another bourbon and went back to his self appointed task of polishing glasses.

Gibbs looked over at the redhead, who was now studying him intently. He hadn't meant to speak, but it had just bubbled up and was out his mouth before he'd realised it. Although from the smile that was slowly appearing on her face, making what he could now see were startling green eyes gleam, he realised that it could end up being the best thing he'd done in a long time. Looking at her made him forget, and that was what he wanted, to forget.

"Do you always buy drinks for strange women in bars?" she asked, one perfect eyebrow arched in wry amusement.

"Do you always accept drinks from strange men in bars?" he countered.

"You have to live dangerously at some point," she replied, shifting onto the bar stool next to his.

As her legs crossed, her skirt slid up ever so slightly, revealing more of the pale, toned flesh of her thigh, and Gibbs felt his gut clench, he really wanted to run his fingers along the exposed skin, but he figured that was a bit too forward. Instead he offered his hand, "Jethro."

She smiled, taking the proffered hand. "Jenny," she replied. Then as their hands parted she rolled his name around her tongue. "Jethro," she repeated, and the way she said it made him want to hear her scream it. He tried to push that image out of his head and concentrated instead on what she was saying, "Your parents obviously had a sense of humour."

"First name's worse," he replied chuckling.

"Oh God," she looked appalled. "You mean that's actually the lesser of two evils?"

"Afraid so," he laughed.

"Well, Jethro, you never answered my question."

He shrugged, "A woman who can hold her bourbon's rare."

"I'll admit it is a rather acquired taste." She looked down at his drink, the smile that was curving her full lips, deepening. "A taste that we appear to share."

"Looks like it."

Jennifer Sheppard looked up into the warm, laughing blue eyes and felt her bad mood slip away slightly. She'd had the day from hell so far. It had started with an argument with her father over his reluctance to accept he needed help in the house, to having to treat a two year old with severe dehydration which had lead to acute kidney failure because his father had left him to die in a car alongside his murdered mother's body.

Just the thought of the little boy made her sad, he'd need to spend time on dialysis although it looked like he'd recover, but what sort of life would he have, knowing what his father had done? She just couldn't imagine why anyone would do that to any child, let alone their own. She'd come to the bar wanting to forget, and although she didn't normally chat up men at the bar, for this one she was very willing to make an exception.

The conversation flowed easily, although neither gave away anything else to do with their lives, and the other didn't ask. It was as though they both recognised that they just wanted something to take them away from reality.

Finally the bartender appeared in front of them. "Last orders, you pair," he told them before walking away.

Jenny stared down at the dregs in her glass. "I'd be tempted to ask for another one, but for the past few he's been watering them down."

"You noticed it too, then?"

"Hmmm, well he's not been very subtle in his disapproval over how much we've drank."

"Not the best trait in a barman," Gibbs remarked.

"No," Jenny laughed. "It really isn't."

Suddenly emboldened by the sultry laugh that escaped her, Gibbs realised that he didn't want this to end quite so soon. His fingers brushed over her hand and elicited a small shiver that made up his mind for him. Leaning closer, he told her, "You know, I have a full bottle of bourbon at home."

"Are you bragging, or issuing an invitation?" Jenny joked lightly.

"Definitely the second," he replied.

"Well in that case, how can I refuse?" They both slipped off their stools, Gibbs helping Jenny with her jacket. "Very chivalrous," she whispered.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

She laughed again. "If you're that unsure you can check your thesaurus when you get home."

"Don't own one."

"That actually makes sense." She turned her head slightly so that her cheek brushed against his, shooting him a small smile.

She'd just leaned into him when the harsh tones of the barman once again broke through their shared trance. "You two better not be driving," he snapped.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jenny replied smartly.

"I should take your keys, play it safe."

Gibbs shot him a hard glare, he really didn't appreciate being interrupted. "We're taking a taxi," he barked back.

"Yeah, well, I'll be watching, making sure you do."

Jenny rolled her eyes as they walked away. "He's an absolute charmer, no wonder it was so mobbed in there."

Gibbs laughed, "It's not your regular then?"

"Nope, I've always preferred places where your shoes don't stick to the floor."

"My place definitely has an advantage over in there then," Gibbs told her confidently.

Jenny's eyes raked lazily over his form. "I can think of a couple more advantages it might have as well," she replied, as she hailed a taxi for them both.

* * *

**Quick note, if caught quickly enough the acute kidney failure is reversible. Chronic kidney failure is not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, chapter 1 part 2. **

**And yes this chapter is rated M.**

**Also just so you all know, this story is set in series 4, certainly after hiatus, but with no Hollis on the scene.**

**I own absolutely nothing**

* * *

By the time they reached his house, Gibbs was struggling to keep control. The combination of her whispering quietly in his ear as her elegant fingers traced abstract patterns on his thigh while they sat in the taxi had him gritting his teeth in an effort not to pin her to the seat.

He quickly opened the front door, letting her go inside first. She whirled to face him and leaning lazily against the wall, she asked, "So where's this bourbon you promised me?" She couldn't help but laugh at the surprised expression on his face - bourbon was the farthest thing from his mind right now, and she knew it. She gave a small shrug. "Just making sure you didn't lure me here under false pretences," she joked lightly.

His eyes raking over her form, he replied, "It's in the basement."

At that her eyebrows shot into her hairline. "You've invited me back to your basement?" she questioned. "Wow, you really are a strange man."

He could feel the grin tugging at his mouth. "So I've been told."

"Well then, lead the way." she gestured down the hallway, following on behind him. She stopped dead at the top of the stairs when he turned on the light and she took in the sight of the half finished boat that was currently residing in the middle of the room. He, however was already at the bottom of the stairs, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to have a boat in your basement. When he turned to look at her, she made her way slowly down the stairs, and told him, "You have to be one of the most interesting men I've ever met." She shook her head at the boat. "You did this all by yourself?"

"Uh huh," he replied as he pulled out the bottle of bourbon from a drawer, emptying out two mason jars in lieu of cups. When he looked up again she was circling the boat.

"This is really well done." she glanced at him, frowning as she asked, "But how do you plan to get it out of here?"

"Trade secret," he told her, holding out the jar of bourbon.

She took it, grinning. "Out of glasses?"

"I never promised you a glass," he replied, smirking.

"Very true. And you were right, the floor isn't sticky here, which means." She bent down and almost triumphantly removed her killer heels, leaving him genuinely surprised by how much smaller she was without them. She took a sip of her drink and hopped up onto his workbench. "You been working on it long?" she asked, gesturing towards the boat.

"Couple of years," he replied as he moved beside her, his hand brushing back the curls that had fallen across her cheek.

She took in a sharp breath, and turned those startling green eyes on him again. Taking another sip of her drink, she watched as he moved so he was in front of her, his thumb brushing almost lazily across her cheekbone, causing the flesh on her arms to break out in goose bumps . Placing her jar on the counter, her tongue darted out to wet her lip almost nervously. That one tiny movement shattered Gibbs self control, and leaning forward he tangled his fingers into her hair, tilting her face to his. His lips brushed against hers, the contact slight and fleeting. It was Jenny who deepened the kiss, her hands pulling him closer as things quickly turned more passionate.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt bunching up around the top of her thighs. As kisses went it was perfect and she wanted more. His lips were warm and firm and she could taste the lingering remains of the bourbon. She let out a moan as one of his hands began to trace the skin of her thigh, inquisitive fingers moving upwards until they found the band of her stockings.

Gibbs smiled almost smugly at his find as his mouth moved to trail kisses along her jaw, as his fingers dipped under the material and teased bare skin, earning a quiet moan of approval.

Her hands were on his shoulders, she steadied herself slightly as she took in a deep, calming breath, before shrugging the jacket off him, letting it hit the floor with a soft thud.

As his teeth scraped across her jugular she gasped, and her fingers moved to his jaw guided his face to hers. She kissed him slowly and deeply, and then meeting his blue eyes that seemed almost impossibly dark with arousal, she asked, "Do you have any protection?"

His mind was so clouded that for a second he just stared at her, and then he had to think about the answer, before nodding. "Yeah, upstairs."

"Good." She smiled against his mouth, kissing the edge of his lips.

A low groan tearing loose from the back of his throat, he tugged her off the bench, backing her towards the stairs determinedly.

Later, neither could really figure out how they managed to get up two flights of stairs without toppling back down them, they were so engrossed in shedding the others clothing just so that they could explore more skin.

By the time they reached the bedroom, Jenny's skirt had just fallen to a puddle on the floor and Gibbs was only in his boxers. The room was in complete darkness, the curtains already shut, but already Gibbs eyes had adjusted and his breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of her wearing nothing but her stockings and a black bra and thong. His hands grazed her bare sides, trailing upwards until they reached the clasp at the back, undoing it deftly and letting the item flutter to the floor. He kissed crook of her neck as he cupped one heavy breast in his palm, his thumb circling the aureole lazily.

Jenny moaned quietly, the front of her hand brushing against the front of his boxers, causing his actions to falter, a hiss escaping from between tightly clenched teeth. She took advantage of the moment and backed away, settling on his bed, crooking her finger to indicate she wanted him to join her.

He settled over her, a jolt running up her spine as his mouth lowered to her breast, tugging one nipple into his warm mouth, suckling gently as his slightly calloused fingers mimicked his actions on the other side. Her mouth fell open slightly as her breathing grew heavier, and her fingers curled into the band of his boxers, tugging them down and off. She curled her hand around his length, fingers brushing against his tip and smiling against his shoulder when her actions caused him to groan against her skin.

He brushed her hand away, moving down her form slightly, grasping her ankle in firm hands and slowly rolled her stockings off one leg and then the other, placing a kiss to the inside of her knee before trailing his hands up to the last scrap of underwear she had on. His fingers brushed against her centre, the material already damp. He pushed his thumb against the fabric, expertly finding her over sensitized bundle of nerves and she cried out, her back arching.

The last of his self control disintegrated and he pulled the sodden material away easily, uncaring of the fact that they were now ruined, and lowered himself over her, supporting his weight on one arm, while the other rummaged in his bedside drawer, as Jenny placed butterfly kisses along his jaw and down his neck.

He moved away for a brief moment, she barely had time to register his absence when he was back, his fingers testing her, slipping easily into her wetness. She wriggled against him as she felt his tip brush against her momentarily before he pushed into her slowly. Her eyes closing at the sensation of him filling her, her breath coming in pants.

At first he didn't move, taking a second to savour the feel of her warm and wet, surrounding him. Her hips bucked impatiently against his, and he drew back his thrusts slow at first as he tried to gauge what she wanted.

Her hand splayed against his ass, urging him on as she groaned, "Harder."

His thrust began to pick up pace, growing in urgency as he moved deeper into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, mumbled words falling from her swollen lips. He could feel her muscles begin to spasm gently around him as their sweat slicked skin glided against one another. He reached down, rubbing at her clit, unaware of the groans that were escaping him as he strived to fight off his release for just a few more moments.

Her toes curled as she felt the waves of her orgasm hit her. She cried out his name, her voice hoarse and cracking slightly. The sound of his name falling from her lips was enough for him to let go, pressing deep and staying there as the shudders wracked his frame. He lowered hi head to hers, coaxing another kiss from her, as her hand caressed his back, absentmindedly tracing patterns on the damp skin.

When they'd both regained more control over their breathing and their heartbeats had descended from hummingbird range, he pulled out of her, a move that had her biting back a moan as he slid against overly sensitive nerve endings. "I'll be back in a minute," he told her, his voice gravely.

She shut her eyes slightly, listening to his footsteps as they padded away. He was true to his word, returning to her side quickly, by which point she was sitting up, her legs over the side of the bed, dangling her ruined thong between her fingers by one of the torn straps. She shot him a wry grin. "It's a good thing that this wasn't expensive," she quipped. She felt her muscles relax slightly at the chuckle that escaped him. She didn't really go in for one night stands and she had absolutely no idea how she should act now. Gathering up her scattered clothing while he watched seemed a bit…well….awkward. "I should probably go," she told him.

He watched her stand, and then bite her lip as though she'd just realised how difficult leaving would be, especially considering she didn't have her car, and she'd have to wait for a taxi. That and in all honesty he wasn't quite as keen as he thought he would be to rush her out of the door, the sex had been pretty intense, especially when he took into account the fact that they'd only just met, and he was loathe to let it go quite so quickly. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "We never did finish that bottle, in fact we barely started it."

He let his words hang in the air, along with his unspoken invitation.

Her smile became more natural, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Do you really intend to go all the way downstairs to get that bottle?"

He shrugged. "Hate to see it go to waste."

She looked up at him, her fingers moving gently across his chest. "It would be an absolute crime for that too happen, in fact I really don't think I have a choice in the matter when you put it like that."

His mouth brushed her earlobe, as he whispered, "Thought you'd see it like that.

* * *

The shrill noise pierced through the haze of Jenny's mind, and she sat up gingerly, surprised when she found that her head actually didn't hurt as badly as she felt it should. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Jethro was still asleep - although she hadn't pegged him as a deep sleeper.

The noise started again, and she winced when she realised that it was her cell phone, not wanting to wake him, she answered it quickly and kept her voice as quiet as possible. "Hello."

She listened to the woman on the other end and glanced over at the neon lights on the bedside alarm, cursing silently when she saw it was ten past nine. "I'm so sorry Naomi," she told her. "I've slept in. Are you able to wait? I can be there by ten." She listened to the response, answering, "That's great, I'm on my way."

Looking backwards again, she debated whether or not to wake him. It would be awkward if she did, although it hadn't been said it was clear to her that last night was a one night affair. Still it seemed rude just to get up and go, especially when she considered how amazing the night had been. Noting the pen and pad on the bedside table, she grabbed it and writing a hurried note, placed it on the pillow.

Tugging on the wearable parts of her underwear, she left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. As she went in search of the rest of her clothing she quickly and quietly phoned a taxi.

* * *

Blinking open heavy eyes, Gibbs was surprised to find the space next to him deserted. He sat up slowly, waiting for a headache that never came. She'd left, he concluded grimly. Then his eyes fell to the piece of paper lying on the pillow she'd vacated. He snatched it up, reading the scant writing.

_Didn't want to wake you,_

_Jenny_

He let out a deep breath, that was that then. Not that he'd really expected anything different, in fact at first the one night was all he wanted. He shook his head, so the sex was good, great even, he shouldn't let that throw him. He'd met her in a bar, it had very obviously been a one night deal, there was no point in wondering what if.

Scrunching the note, he threw it to the side and dropped back onto his pillow. Closing his eyes and exhaling deeply, just as his phone went. Snatching it up, he snapped, "Gibbs."

"Hi Boss." Tony's voice floated over the line.

"What is it Dinozzo?"

"Um," the younger man stalled, obviously unsure about something. "We were just wondering where you were?"

"What?" Gibbs snapped.

"Well, um what I mean is we wondered when you were coming in?"

Frowning, Gibbs looked over at his clock and fought the urge to swear when he saw it was after ten. He never slept in, even when he had been drinking the night before. And from the sounds of things Dinozzo had obviously drawn the short straw as per usual. Letting out a grunt of annoyance, Gibbs told him, "I'll be in soon."

"Right, but where are-"

He hung up, cutting the younger man off mid-sentence. His eyes fell once more on the crimpled piece of paper and he shook as head, as if trying to dispel the memories, before he got up and headed towards his shower.


	3. Chapter 3

**I can only apologize for the massive delay. I'm afraid that it won't improve either, I'm completely and utterly swamped and struggling to find the time to update anything. **

**I'm going to try and get an update to Holding it Together up next, the block finally seems to be clearing, just at the time when I don't have time to actually do anything about it.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you to those who still want to read it after such a long delay :)**

* * *

One Week Later

"I don't like her!"

Jenny rolled her eyes at the almost childish statement and looked over to where her father was rummaging about his desk. "Why not?" she asked patiently.

"She's moved everything."

"That's called cleaning, Dad."

Jasper Sheppard let out an annoyed grunt. "She keeps pestering me, turning up with food I don't want and never asked for."

"Which is why I hired her. You had a heart attack just two weeks ago-"

"A mild heart attack," he corrected her quickly.

"Which should act as a warning. You haven't been looking after yourself for a while now and you don't want me to move in to help-"

"_You_," Jasper pointed at her. "Should be out leading your own life."

Jenny sighed at the constant interruptions and tried once again to continue, "Which is why Naomi is the perfect compromise, she keeps this place running smoothly and makes sure that you take time to eat."

He let out another annoyed snort, pulling a pile of papers out of his desk and waving them at her. "It's taken me twenty minutes to find these."

"If it helps I'll tell her not to clean your study in the future."

"All my notes are on this," he muttered.

Shaking her head, Jenny leaned against the sofa and let her eyes scan along the bookshelves. Since her father had retired he'd decided that he wanted to write a book, something that now consumed his every waking thought, and he could quite often be found at his desk surrounded by thousands of pieces of paper, lost in his own little world. Her attention snapped back to him when he spoke again, "It needs to stop."

"Fine." Jenny slapped her hands off her thighs. "If you really don't like her then I'll start looking for someone else."

His head snapped up, guilty flush appearing across his cheeks. "I suppose," he grumbled slowly. "That it might just be a case of better the devil you know."

"Right, so you don't want me to find someone else?" Jenny asked, trying to stop the smile that was tugging at her lips. She knew that he was really just creating fuss for the sake of it, and he wouldn't let her sack Naomi without reasonable cause.

"No, no, I suppose not. Just tell her to leave my study alone."

"I will."

His eyes rested on her, and he placed the paper to one side. "Enough about me, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Jenny replied.

"You look tired. I hope you've not been working too much?" he asked concernedly.

"We're short staffed just now so I've had to cover a couple of shifts, but that won't last forever."

He shook his head and let out a sad sigh. "You need a life, Jennifer."

"I have one," Jenny replied. "And just because it hasn't followed your idea of how it should have went, that doesn't make it any less meaningful."

"If I thought you were happy then I wouldn't have mentioned it."

"I'm not unhappy."

"No, but that's not good enough. You need more than work in your life." He looked thoughtful, as he asked, "How is Todd?"

Jenny groaned. "We are not going to talk about this."

"Why not?"

"Because-" Jenny was cut off by her mobile ringing. "Two minutes," she told Jasper. Hitting the answer button, she listened to the person on the other end, replying, "No, no that's fine, I'll be in as soon as I can." Hanging up she looked over apologetically. "I need to go, they've asked me to start my shift a few hours earlier. They're short staffed again."

"This is what I mean," Jasper tutted. "Surely they could have found someone else."

"I'm working later anyway, I may as well do a couple of extra hours."

"Very well. Since you're leaving I think I'll do a couple of hours of research."

Smiling, Jenny leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'll drop in and see you soon, Dad."

"Take care of yourself, Jennifer."

"I will," she promised him over her shoulder as she headed towards the door.

Stepping out into the warm autumn mid-morning sun, she smiled at Naomi, who was making her way up the path with a couple of shopping bags. "Good morning senora," the younger woman greeted her.

"Morning Naomi. How are you getting on?"

"Very well, thank you. He's a stubborn man, but very kind."

"Glad to hear it," Jenny smiled. "There is one small favour I have to ask you, though."

"Of course, ask away."

"It's about his study-"

Naomi laughed, interrupting her. "Oh don't worry, I know. I won't clean up in there in future, he ranted on and on for an hour this morning about me moving his papers."

"Thank you," Jenny replied as she looked at her watch, "I better get going, I'll see you soon."

* * *

"So what do you have for me?" Jenny asked Louisa Addams, as she swept into the doctor's office in Bethesda's E.R.

"Blue lighter's on the way in. Male, mid thirties, assaulted in his home. GCS of three."

"Resus been set up?"

"They're doing it now."

"ETA?"

"About seven minutes."

"Anything else I should know?"

"We're swamped, once this guy's in then resus is full, as is cubicles. We're waiting for beds to clear upstairs, until then it's pretty crowded in here." Pushing a stray strand of dark hair of her face, Louisa gave a smile, "Thanks for doing this."

"Not a problem," Jenny replied easily. "I better get going, I'll see you later."

"Fine, but I owe you a drink," Louisa called after her.

Pulling on a plastic apron and a pair of gloves, Jenny walked into the bustling resus area. "If this guy has a GCS of three then I want a vent standing by in case we have to intubate," she informed the team she'd be working with.

"Done," one of the senior nurses informed her.

"Great." Her head snapped up as they heard the sirens grow louder, only a few more seconds and the patient burst through the door with two EMT's. "What have we got?"

"Matthew Grant, thirty two. Assault victim. GCS of three and he's remained unresponsive throughout. BP's low but holding steady at 80/45 and pulse is weak and thready, respiration of five. We ready to transfer?"

Jenny nodded. "Yes, but until we've ruled out any neck or spinal injuries I want him kept on the board, so we'll slide across on three." She waited until everyone was in position before continuing. "One, two, three." Once he was across, she looked across at one of the intern's, Chris. "I want you to arrange a portable X-Ray in here ASAP." She shone her torch across the patients eyes and added, "Request an urgent neuro consult as well, one of his pupils has blown."

One of the nurses looked up from attaching the monitering leads. "Do you want fluids? The EMT's managed to get a line in."

"Yes, we'll run normal saline through for just now, try and bump up his blood pressure slightly until we've got some blood cross matched." She examined the canula in his hand. "He's shutting down so I don't think this is going to hold for long, I'm going to need a central line kit."

"I'll get one."

Mumbling her thanks distractedly, Jenny drew some blood and passed it across to another one of her team. "Priority one this, I want a tox screen done as well, see if that could be impacting on his neurological status."

"On it."

* * *

Slamming the car door shut, Gibbs strode up the driveway of the small house and called out, "What do we have?"

"Serious assault on a petty officer, could be a break in but it looks a lot weirder than that" McGee informed him as they walked into the house together. "Wife came home to find her husband, Petty Officer Matthew Grant tied to the bed and beaten unconscious. He's been taken to Bethesda for treatment but the EMT's didn't seem to hopeful."

"And the wife?"

"Went with him."

"Did you get a statement?"

"No, Metro tried before we even got here but she was apparently so distraught she was almost incoherent."

"Right, so we'll need to chase that up then. Any signs of forced entry?"

"None."

"Could be a sex game gone wrong, he was butt naked when the wife found him," Tony suggested, looking up from his notepad.

"You don't accidentally beat someone to the brink of death, Dinozzo," Gibbs sighed irritably. "Come on let's process this scene quickly and then Dinozzo, you and I are heading to Bethesda to talk to the wife. Ziva, McGee I want you to trace to then start looking into Petty Officer Grant's last known movements.

* * *

"It's not good news," Todd Gelfand breathed out tiredly as he stared at the CT scan.

"Even I can see that," Jenny replied.

"Massive intra cerebral hemorrhage on the right side of the brain. The damage has already been done, if he'd been found earlier I might have been able to do something, but I don't see any chance of him regaining consciousness, What are his other injuries?"

Jenny sighed. "Broken ribs, bruising to the spinal cord, query slow abdo bleed and fractures to his cheek bone and both forearms. Urine output is non existent, so he it's likely that he's in renal failure as well, but I'm still waiting on bloods to confirm, some hold up at the lab."

Todd nodded. "In that case I'm going to and talk to the wife, can you arrange a transfer up to ICU?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." Todd flashed her a small smile, and his hand squeezed her arm gently, causing her to look down, a frown crossing her face. "You ok?" he asked her. "This isn't exactly pleasant."

"I can cope," she replied dryly.

"I was going to try and get someone else to take this case but they were all busy, so you're stuck with me."

"We're adults, Todd," Jenny told him quietly. "I have no problem putting my personal life to one side, you should try doing the same." She looked at him pointedly.

"Fair point," he conceeded. "Look maybe after all this is over we could go for a drink, chat."

Jenny shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

He frowned. "I just want us to be friends."

"We don't need to be friends, we just need to be professional." She glared at him. "Look, I'm going to arrange this transfer and then I've got other patients to see. I suggest that you forget about me and start concentrating on how you're going to tell a twenty eight year old woman she'll be a widow within the next few hours." And with that she turned on her heel and walked away from him.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't know where this came from, two updates in as many days is unusual at the moment lol.**

**Later in the chapter there's a bit about information sharing, now I'm not sure how accurate this is and how much patient confidentiality would impact on this, I would assume that because of the circumstances they could share that type of information, but if I'm wrong then I apologize.**

**Also regarding the withdrawal of treatment, I've never seen this in these types of circumstances so once again if I get it wrong I'm sorry.**

**All mistakes are my own.**

* * *

On her way back from transferring Matthew Grant into Todd's care, Jenny took a slight detour into the paediatric ICU. She flashed a smile at the nurse in charge. "How is he?" she asked, referring to the little boy she'd treated the week before. "I meant to come up earlier but we've been swamped."

The woman smiled at her. "He's doing well, Dr Shepard. Still on dialysis but improving all the time. His grandparents have barely left his side."

"That's hardly surprising," Jenny remarked.

"You're not his only champion either."

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, confused.

"The man who found him, an Agent Gibbs, he's phoned a couple of times to check on him. Did you ever meet him?"

"Nope, why?"

The nurse shrugged. "Nice voice, wondered if he looks as good as he sounds."

Jenny grinned. "Well I'm afraid I can't help. I'm glad he's getting there, I'll check again soon if that's ok."

"Fine by me."

* * *

"Agent Gibbs, you look well." Todd smiled at his former patient as he made his way over to where the two Agents were standing waiting for him. "Now what can I do for you?"

"You have a Petty Officer Grant in your care, we'd like to know how he's doing and talk to his wife."

"Ah." Todd winced. "It's not good news I'm afraid, we've withdrawn all active treatment and his wife has contacted his parents, once they've said their goodbyes we'll be switching off his ventilator. With a head injury so severe he doesn't stand a chance of survival. It's a tragic case." He frowned. "Do you have to speak to her just now?"

"The sooner the better really," Gibbs replied. "The first twenty four hours of an investigation are crucial."

"She's in the relatives room, it's at the end of the corridor."

Gibbs nodded and headed towards the room, gesturing for Tony to follow him. They stepped quietly into the room where a petite blonde sat huddled in the corner of the room, staring blankly out of the window. Gibbs coughed quietly, causing her eyes to slowly drag over to where they were standing. He stepped forward. "Mrs Grant, I'm Agent Gibbs I'm investigating your husband's case and I was wondering if we could get a statement from you."

She nodded distractedly, replying, "Of course, and call me Kate, Mrs Grant makes me sound about fifty." Her eyes watered. "Although I suppose I'll miss it soon enough." She rubbed her hands agitatedly over the tops of her legs. "So what do you want to know?"

Gibbs sat down next to her. "We need to know what happened this morning and where you were last night."

"I went out to see a friend," she croaked out. "Sarah Ross. It was a girl's night in, so we just sat drinking wine, chatting. I stayed overnight."

"Did you plan to stay overnight?"

"Yes, it had been arranged for at least a week."

"And what happened when you came home?"

"Everything seemed so normal." She shook her head and wiped at her eyes with her closed fist. "The front door was locked as usual, I went inside, calling out for Matt but there was no answer. I thought he was still asleep so I went into the bedroom and he was just…slumped there, tied to the bed!" Her voice rose an octave, hysteria breaking through her façade. "I don't understand, nothing else seemed out of place when I walked through the house. How could this have happened!" She dissolved into tears, leaning into Gibbs side when he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

As they stepped out of the room roughly ten minutes later, Tony asked, "So are we ruling out the wife then?"

"Check her alibi, see if it holds up. Also go back to Dr Gelfand and see if you can get the results from any blood tests they ran, I want to know if he had anything in his system."

"Will do, Boss…but…um, where are you going?"

"Need coffee, there's a place across the street so I'm going to go there, the stuff in this place is like bilge water. I'll meet you back at the car once you're done here."

Tony watched his boss go, and trudged slowly back in the direction of Dr Gelfand as he cursed his bad luck at getting such a dull job. "Got a question for you Doc."

Todd glanced up from the chart he was flicking through. "Ask away."

"I'm looking for a copy of any blood tests you've ran."

"I'm afraid I can't help with that one. We've not taken any up here, with a head injury so severe the other injuries pale in comparison. The E.R ran some, but due to a problem at the lab didn't have them back when he was transferred and they're not up on the system yet so I can't recall them from here. Your best bet is to go down and talk to the Attending, the hard copy of the results if they are in will go straight to her since she ordered them."

"Does this attending have a name."

"Jennifer Shepard."

* * *

Jenny took a gulp of her coffee and grimaced. "You think I'd have developed a tolerance for this by now."

Louisa looked up from the paper she was flicking through and laughed, "You do drink enough of the stuff. I saw you talking to Todd earlier."

Her lip curling in disgust she tipped the remnants of the cup down the sink. "I need some real coffee."

"Don't try and change the subject."

"I'm not." Jenny shrugged. "The original topic was coffee, you're the one changing it, or trying to at least."

"Fine so I'm just nosy then." Louisa rolled her eyes. "I have no excitement in my own life and need to live vicariously through you. So come on make my break slightly more interesting."

"No can do I'm afraid, it's not that interesting he just asked me for a drink."

"And you said…"

"No. Now do you want anything from the coffee shop?"

"Nope, I'm fine. And that was it?"

"Yes. I won't be long."

"He can't have been too happy when you said no."

"My role in life is not to make Todd happy," Jenny sighed tiredly. "It's been nearly a month now, I wish people would just drop it." She glanced over at her friend. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Taking a sip of her coffee, Jenny turned towards the door, trying to make her way through the jostling crowd. She'd just about reached the exit when her someone elbowed her sending her flying forward into the man just stepping into the shop. She could feel her cup slipping and in her attempt to keep a hold of it somehow managed to angle it so that when it fell it splattered all over her. "Shit!" she mumbled.

"Ah Hell!" came a deep grumble.

Jenny stared at the coffee splattered arm as he shook it gently and then let her gaze travel upwards, her eyes widening in shock. "Jethro!"

Gibbs eyes snapped up and onto the very familiar face of the woman who'd just barrelled into him. "Jen, I…" He trailed off as he took in the fact that she was wearing her coffee. "You didn't get scalded?" he asked in concern as he moved her gently away from the doorway.

"No…Actually," She peeled the sodden top away from her skin, holding it outstretched. "It was a bit hot, it just took a moment to soak through. I'm sorry it's so busy in here and-"

He held up his hand. "It doesn't matter."

"But your jacket-"

"Will wash," he assured her, a smile playing about his lips. He hadn't expected to ever see her again, but was ridiculously pleased that he had, and that she looked just as good if not better in the daylight.

She looked doubtful at his statement. "I'll pay for any dry cleaning."

"You really don't have to. Come on, I'll replace your coffee."

Jenny couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, she could even feel her eyes lighting up. "I'd like that." Her face fell slightly. "Except I need to get back to work. Do you have a pen?" She asked, slightly surprised at her own forwardness, but she liked him and she'd decided that life was far too short for just hanging around.

Looking slightly bemused he handed her a pen from his pocket and watched as she scrawled a number onto the receipt for her coffee and pressed it into his hand. "It was nice to see you again, Jethro."

Gibbs stared down at the number scrawled across the slightly damp and stained receipt and felt his smile widen, especially when he heard a man behind him mutter, "Lucky Git."

* * *

After tying the blue scrubs around her waist so that they didn't just fall into a puddle at her feet, Jenny began to peel off the sodden top and threw it into her locker in disgust before picking up the matching scrubs top.

As she yanked it over her head, she heard the changing room door click open and an unfamiliar male voice call out, "Dr Sheppard? I'm…Oh God, I'm sorry."

Tony stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the woman tugging the loose blue top over her head. He swallowed heavily, her face may have been obscured but he could see the curve of her waist, pale unblemished skin and full breasts encased in an emerald green bra. Ungluing his tongue from the roof of his mouth, he tried again. "I didn't realise you were getting changed, they said you were just getting something out of your locker."

Jenny gave the top a firm yankover her head and pulled it straight, she glared at the man in front of her. "And you are?"

"Agent Anthony Dinozzo from NCIS, I'm looking into the assault on Petty Officer Grant, I've been told you were his Attending when he was admitted here." Tony felt as though his luck had taken an upward turn when he saw that the face was every bit as attractive as the body. In fact when faced with a woman who looked like that, and had an obviously feisty nature, he could see why Gibbs went for redheads.

Her glare faded and she gave a curt nod. "That's right. How can I help?"

"I'm looking for blood test results."

"I'll need to check our results folder to see if they're back yet." She gestured that she should follow him as they stepped out of the changing room.

Tony cleared his throat. "I really am sorry about earlier."

Jenny grinned at him. "I'm sure it's not the first time you've encountered a half dressed female."

He laughed. "I plead the fifth."

"Course you do." Jenny grabbed the folder where they clipped in any blood results for patients who had already left the unit. She scanned the sheet of paper. "I ran a tox screen as well. He has a blood alcohol level of 0.09% but it was probably quite a bit higher when he was attacked as his system had some time to break it down. The only other unusual thing is that he's obviously taken quite a bit of Viagra, levels are through the roof."

Tony frowned. "But he's only in his early thirties."

"Impotence can strike at any age," Jenny replied smoothly, enjoying the sight of the overly confident man in front of her squirming at the thought. "It might not have been prescribed though, some do take it recreationally you know."

"Can I take that with me, I mean it's not very likely to show up in our Autopsy results, at least not at such a high level, is it?" He asked bluntly.

Jenny frowned. "He's not dead yet, so I'd prefer it if we remembered that we're talking about a human being here."

"Sorry," Tony replied shamefacedly.

Jenny shook her head. "It's fine, just been a long, strange day. I'm afraid I can't give you this though, the original copy needs to go up to the ICU and into his notes."

Tony gave a nod, if the man did pass away then they'd have access to the original notes anyway. Thanks for your help though," he told her.

"Sorry I can't do more."

"You were still more helpful than most." His eyes scanned over her once more. "So," he started smoothly. "Do you-"

He was interrupted by the sounds of a disgruntled patient yelling from behind the curtains. Jenny shot him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but if that's all then I better go."

"Course," he muttered as he watched her rush off in the direction of the kafuffle. He sucked in a disappointed breath, it had been worth a try.

Heading back to where the car was parked, he noted that Gibbs seemed unusually relaxed as he leaned against the car door. "Find anything out?"

"Just that he had been drinking and had high levels of Viagra in his bloodstream," Tony replied.

Gibbs raised a eyebrow. "Well that suggests he was expecting something from last night, and he knew the wife was going to be away…"

"You think he had a lover?"

"It's a definite possibility. But first off I want to make sure the wife was where she said she was. So get in," Gibbs ordered him as he slid into the car.


	5. Chapter 5

"Tell me you have something," Gibbs growled at his team that evening.

Ziva and McGee looked at each, both silently daring the other to speak, although rather unsurprisingly it was McGee who gave first. "We spoke to the neighbours, they didn't see or hear anything suspicious. From all accounts the Grant's gave the impression of a happily married couple with no problems."

"Impressions can be wrong," Gibbs muttered. "Now what about any last known movements?"

"Nothing interesting there either. He left the base at five."

"And the wife says he arrived home at twenty past," Tony concluded. "She arrives at her friend's house at six which we confirmed with her, it's a fifteen minute drive, the chances of her luring him into the bedroom, shoving Viagra down his throat, tying him to the bed and beating him in twenty five minutes is-"

"Unlikely!" Gibbs snapped. "I know!" He shook his head. "We're missing something here. Any news from the hospital?"

"I took a phone call from them five minutes ago, Petty Officer Grant died twenty minutes ago," Ziva told him.

"Maybe we'll get something useful from the Autopsy. In the meantime, McGee check both the home phone records and his mobile for anything unusual."

"Already done it, or rather Abby did, she was bored and looking for something to do," he explained quickly. "She didn't find anything unusual."

Gibbs let out a low sigh of annoyance. "In that case go home and get some sleep, Ducky will have the Autopsy results for us tomorrow, we'll see if that helps any." The team mumbled their agreement as they grabbed their coats and left the bull-pit, leaving their boss to drop into his seat staring into space as he tried to figure out what the hell had happened.

* * *

"This has just not been a good day," McGee groaned as the elevator doors shut.

"Speak for yourself, Probie," Tony smirked. "I got chatting to a very attractive doctor today."

"Did he make your heart skip a beat," Ziva teased him.

"Very funny," Tony remarked, pulling a face.

"Is this your not so subtle way of telling us you have a date tonight?" McGee asked.

"Not yet, I didn't get the chance she was really busy."

Ziva gave a snort of laughter. "Is that the line she fed you." She patted him on his shoulder. "Never mind."

"Hey! No woman is immune to the Dinozzo charm, when I next see her-"

"If," McGee interrupted.

"Fine, if I see her again, I'll turn on the charm and you'll see," he told them confidently.

"Yeah," Ziva laughed. "See her run for mountains."

"Hills, Ziva, hills," Tony sighed tiredly.

* * *

Throwing the pen he'd been twisting around his finger onto the desk, Gibbs let out an irate sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He wasn't getting anywhere with this, he knew he was missing something but he just didn't know what.

Letting out a small huff of annoyance, he found his gaze going to his mobile and a new thought occurred to him; he really shouldn't leave Jenny waiting until the end of this case for his call. That and he desperately needed a distraction, and seeing her again would most definitely take his mind off this case.

He picked up the cell phone and quickly flicked to the number she'd pressed into his hand earlier, hitting the call button before he had the chance to really think about what he was doing. She answered quickly, her husky voice washing over him. "Hello?"

"Wondered if you'd like to go out for dinner?"

He could hear the wry tone of amusement in her voice as she replied, "Is that you, Jethro?"

"Do you hand out your number to a lot of men?"

"No, just a select few, you should feel honoured and even though I suspected you were a man of few word most people prefer to start a conversation with a greeting of some sort."

He chuckled. "Never was one for convention."

"Why doesn't that surprise me. And in answer to your question I'd love to have dinner."

"Good, I'll see you in an hour then."

"You don't hang around."

"Nope."

She laughed warmly. "I suppose I'll have to give you my address then."

"That would be helpful," he admitted.

* * *

Exactly an hour later, Gibbs pulled into the designated car parking spaces for the apartment duplex that Jenny lived in. Reaching over to the passenger seat he grabbed the bags of takeout and headed towards the door, taking the chance to slipping inside as a woman dragging a screaming toddler exited.

He knocked against her front door and waited, leaning against the door jamb as he did so. She wasn't long in answering, her warm smile taking on a confused air when she saw the takeout bags in his hand. "I had assumed we would be going out," she teased.

"Not really one for restaurants," he told her whilst eyeing her outfit appreciatively, the purple dress hugging her in all the right places.

"What did you bring?" she asked, showing him through into the kitchen/diner.

"Selection of Chinese."

"Good choice," she acknowledged. She turned her back to him, perusing her cupboards - giving him the perfect chance to stare at her rear - and added, "I think I have some wine in here somewhere…ah-ha! Found it," she exclaimed happily, pouring them each a glass before retrieving plates for them and jumping up onto one of the stools. She gave him a smile spearing a forkful of food and chewing it thoughtfully before asking, "So tell me about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Your surname would probably be a start," she laughed. "Then what you do, if you've ever been married, you know…small talk." She raised an eyebrow. "Although I'm guessing you're not one for small-talk either." She breathed out uncertainly, this was a slightly awkward moment, normally she found that she knew all this before they'd taken the step of sleeping together. "If it will help I'll go first," she suggested. His mouth twitched with a hint of a smile as he nodded for her to continue. "Jenny Sheppard and I work as an Attending at Bethesda. Your turn," she prompted him.

"Gibbs," he returned after a moment. "Work for NCIS-"

"Oh! I met one of your colleagues today."

His face creased into a frown. "You did?"

She nodded, swallowing a mouthful of Chinese before replying with a small grimace, "Actually I kind of flashed him."

Gibbs leaned back in his chair. "Do you have a thing for authority figures or something?" he asked in amusement.

Laughing she shook her head. "While I have no problem with letting a man take control for a while, in this case it was a complete accident, he walked in on me changing my top after that coffee incident," she explained.

Gibbs frowned at that, he had a horrible sinking feeling. "It wouldn't have happened to have been Agent Dinozzo."

"That's the one. You know him then?"

"He's on my team, I sent him to talk to the doctor of one of our cases." Gibbs breathed in sharply, he didn't think he liked the idea of Tony ogling at Jen, and he definitely didn't like the spring it had seemed to put in his step either.

Jenny shrugged. "If it helps he was very polite about, almost bashful."

"Tony, bashful? Not two words I've ever heard to describe him."

Her eyes widened. "Are you jealous?" she teased.

"No," he replied quickly.

"Well he isn't my type anyway, good looking, yes. But he knows it and he's far too smooth for my tastes." She leaned back in her chair and frowned as her brain made another connection. "Agent Gibbs, I take it?"

"Yeah."

"I was asked about you earlier today by a colleague, it appears we've had more than one crossed case recently. A little boy called Kevin Bailey, I treated him when he came into the ER, I visited him today and heard you'd been keeping up to date on his progress, that was you I presume?"

"It was."

"That was sweet of you, very gallant," she smiled, liking him more and more with each passing moment.

He shrugged. "More to ease my guilty conscience, I wanted to find him a lot sooner than I did," he admitted, surprising himself in the process, he didn't normally open up like this.

"You found him, and that's the main thing," Jenny reminded him. "It's strange, really," she mused. "The number of times we could have met through work and didn't, instead we meet at some random dump."

She stood up intending to clear the plates, but felt the firm pressure of his hand closing around her wrist. Turning to face him, she let him tug her closer until she was standing in front of him, only belatedly noticing that he was now standing as well. He brushed a chaste kiss across her lips. "Leave them," he requested lowly.

"Is that an order, Agent Gibbs?"

"Well you did say you liked men to take charge."

She laughed, "So I did, and you've decided to rise to that challenge."

His answer wasn't in the form of words, instead he pulled her closer as his hands tangled into her red curls and he brought her lips up to meet his.


End file.
